How the anti-vaccine movement threatens America's children

SAN FRANCISCO - Deadly diseases are making a comeback.
Pertussis, or whooping cough, has killed nine infants this year in
California, and outbreaks of measles and Hib meningitis have struck
U.S. communities in the past three years.

At the heart of all these outbreaks: Parents who have chosen not
to vaccinate their children.

Paul Offit, MD, FAAP, a noted vaccine expert and vocal critic of
the anti-vaccine movement, will trace the history of vaccine fears
in America during a plenary address at the American Academy of
Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference & Exhibition in San
Francisco Monday, Oct. 4. In his talk, scheduled for approximately
11:50 a.m. PT at the Moscone Center, Dr. Offit will highlight:

The origins of religious and philosophical exemptions to
vaccines in the U.S.;

The impact of those exemptions on vaccine rates and the spread
of vaccine-preventable diseases;

The delicate balance between individual freedoms and societal
good.

"Parents are bombarded with false stories about the dangers of
vaccines, and the result is that some are backing away from
vaccinating their children," said Dr. Offit. "This is tragic,
because it leaves children vulnerable to deadly diseases, and it
lowers the immunity of the entire community."

The pertussis epidemic in California is just the latest example
of a disease that has taken a foothold thanks to low immunization
rates. In 2008, 11 children around San Diego were infected with
measles after an unvaccinated child returned home from Switzerland
with the infection. In 2009, five children in Minnesota contracted
Hib meningitis - a vaccine-preventable infection - and one died.
Several cases and at least two deaths were also reported in other
states.

"We are at a crossroads," said Dr. Offit. "If population
immunity continues to break down, the door will open wider to
diseases that we thought had been vanquished by vaccines."

A co-inventor of a rotavirus vaccine, Dr. Offit's passionate
advocacy for immunization has made him a frequent target of the
anti-vaccine movement. His new book, "Deadly Choices: How The
Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All," will be published by Basic
Books in January.